


The Life I Never Had

by Kamechan98



Series: Jellicle Arts For Jellicle Cats [2]
Category: Cats (1998), Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot
Genre: Abusive Macavity, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Brothers, Bustopher is not a bad dad just misguided, Family Issues, Fluff, Macavity has issues, Munkustrap is trying!, Past Abuse, Sibling Love, Teenagers, Tugger is traumatized, Victoria is the best sister
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:33:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29764530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamechan98/pseuds/Kamechan98
Summary: After his second day at Jellicle Arts Tugger, Bombalurina take Mistoffelees to their favorite coffee shop to hang out and study together. But it's once they reach home for the day that their personal skeletons in the closet come out to say 'Hello!'I'm not sure how Trigger Warnings work, but I will say chapter 3-4 will contain mentioned and implied mental, emotional and physical abuse. Just a heads up.
Relationships: Bombalurina & Mr. Mistoffelees (Cats), Bustopher Jones & Mr. Mistoffelees, Mr. Mistoffelees & Rum Tum Tugger (Cats), Mr. Mistoffelees & Victoria (Cats), Munkustrap & Rum Tum Tugger, Old Deuteronomy & Munkustrap & Rum Tum Tugger (Cats), pre-Alonzo/Cassandra
Series: Jellicle Arts For Jellicle Cats [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030893
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I think we can all agree that 2020 sucked! I admit I got off easier than a lot of people, I still had a job, none of my family members got sick and my country never went into Lockdown, so I won't complain too much. But my computer died and it took a long time for me to get one, so my writing was dead for several months, as you might have noticed. 
> 
> But now I'm back and I'm finally done with this new story for my little series. This became super long so I split it into three or four chapters. 
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we can all agree that 2020 sucked! I admit I got off easier than a lot of people, I still had a job, none of my family members got sick and my country never went into lockdown, so I won't complain too much. But my computer died and it took a long time for me to get one, so my writing was dead for several months, as you might have noticed. 
> 
> But now I'm back and I'm finally done with this new story for my little series. This became super long so I split it into three or four chapters. 
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Tugger and Bombalurina had been going to this coffee place since they both started going to Jellicle Arts. It was a small, quaint and cozy place with a warm color palette decor and the best coffee Tugger had ever tasted, and they frequently came here after school, both to hang out or to do homework together. 

Well, ‘do homework’ was putting it very lightly. Bombalurina usually tried to study while Tugger yammered on about anything non-related to school work until she eventually caved in and they just hung out. She knew it was useless to try and resist, he always found ways to make her cave in eventually.

And even though the coffee place wasn't in any way connected to their school, a big chunk of the students of Jellicle Arts migrated here after school was done for the day, or even worked part-time there. It was like their own club house of sorts, where almost all Jellicle Cats got their coffee before or after school or to earn a little cash. 

Tugger was entirely convinced that their school and all the hundreds of students that came there on a daily basis was helping this very small coffee shop stay in business. They had to be making thousands of pounds a day thanks to them.

Mistoffelees had clearly never been there but was very pleasantly surprised by how warm and homey it was. “Wow, nice place.”

Tugger grinned and placed his arm around his shoulders again, pulling him closer. “I know, right? But the coffee’s even better, just wait and see.” 

Bombalurina rolled her eyes and walked up to the counter, smiling at the queen who was wiping the counter. “Hi Cassandra.” 

The queen, Cassandra, an abyssinian cat with a beautiful, sleek chocolate brown coat, a braided tail and amber eyes, looked up and gave a very small smile. “Hey, Bomba,” She turned to look at Tugger and her smile turned in a haughty frown. “Tugger.” 

Tugger grinned, seemingly unbothered by her cold demeanor and walked up beside Bombalurina, his arm still around Mistoffelees’ shoulder. “Good afternoon, Cassandra, oh you lovely desert flower. How is this marvelous day treating you?” 

Mistoffelees rolled his eyes and only barely held back a groan. He had been warming up to Tugger and his off-beat personality significantly today, but this open and shameless flirting was definitely going to take some getting used to. 

Cassandra didn’t seem too impressed either, rolling her eyes and shaking her head with a low disgusted groan, her face somehow becoming even colder.

“Are you ever going to grow up, Tugger?” She muttered snootily before she laid eyes on Mistoffelees, who shrunk back a little bit and tried to take a step back but was hindered by Tugger’s arm. She raised an eyebrow and the corner of her lip twitched into a small smile.

“Oh, who’s this then? If it isn’t the new little Star at Jellicle Arts.” She only sounded mildly impressed, but her smile turned a little warmer. But Mistoffelees still felt a little unnerved by her cold demeanor and the stark contrast between how warm and welcoming everyone else had been today. 

_ Is this how I come across to other cats?' _

He smiled awkwardly and shrugged. “Eh, yeah, I guess so?”

Cassandra smirked. "Guess so? You mean you're not our newest and brightest shining star?" And though her smile was a tiny bit teasing, her voice was still a bit haughty, so Mistoffelees wasn't quite sure if she was teasing him or not. 

Tugger snorted when he saw his unsure face and pulled Mistoffelees’ a little closer, smirking at his teasingly. “Don’t look so nervous, kitten. She’s not going to bite you.” He turned back to her. “Right?”

She smirked coldly at him. “No. I’m far more likely to bite you one of these days. Especially if you don’t shut up.” 

Tugger just smirked and leaned in closer. “Ooh, is that a promise?” 

She growled lowly and swiped her claws at his face, but he just laughed it off. Bombalurina shook her head with a tired frown and then turned to Mistoffelees with a smile.

“Mistoffelees, this is Cassandra. She goes to Jellicle Arts too. She’s a dancer, we share a few of my classes. She’s really good.” 

And now that Mistoffelees looked back, he had vague memories of seeing her during rehearsals for the Showcase, usually sticking to the background and watching all of the chaos around her with an aloof and contemptuous look on her face.

It was like she was constantly asking herself why everyone around her was so immature and thought that she was the only one acting like an adult.

She smirked down at him and winked. “Yeah, I suppose I know a thing or two. And I guess a ‘welcome to our school’ is in order, isn’t it?” Her tone was still a little icy, but significantly less so than when she was talking to Tugger. She then turned to Bombalurina and Tugger.

“So, will it be the usual today?” Then she threw a glare at Tugger. “Or will we try something new today?” It was a very clear jab at him but Tugger just took it in stride and grinned at her.

“Nah, I think I’ll settle for a pumpkin spice latte today.” He turned to Bombalurina. “And you?”

She hummed in thought, looking over the menu, nodding to herself and turned back to Cassandra. “I’ll just have a plain latte please.” 

Cassandra nodded as she pressed on the cash register before turning to Mistoffelees with a small smile. “And what about you?” 

Mistoffelees bit his lip, looked over the menu and then back to Cassandra. “Do you have Chai?” He asked carefully, despite having looked over the menu and knowing what they did. 

He didn’t spend a lot of time at cafes’ and didn’t normally talk much to other cats. This was a bit outside his comfort zone.

Cassandra smirked. “Of course.”

Mistoffelees nodded and smiled. “Great, I’ll have that please."

Once they’d all gotten their orders and sat down at a table, Tugger’s phone started to buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out, rolled his eyes with a groan before rejecting the call and shoved it back down in his pocket again, his tail suddenly swishing in annoyance. 

Mistoffelees looked up from the book he had pulled out of his bag and tilted his head to the side. “Are you alright?” 

Tugger nodded with a tired and annoyed frown and sat down, throwing his bag down by his feet and slumped back in the armchair. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Straps' just being a nosy bastard again.” He took a sip of his latte and let out a heavy sigh. 

Bombalurina looked up as she shrugged off her dark red leather jacket, draping it over the back of her chair. She looked at Tugger with a raised eyebrow and narrowed eyes. “You  _ did _ tell him we were going here after school, right?”

Suppressing a groan of frustration, Tugger started to dig around in his bag and dug out his own math book and a notebook. “It’s none of his damn business where I am and what I do. Maybe I wouldn’t mind telling him these things if he wasn’t such a micromanaging control freak.” He looked up at Bombalurina and mirrored her raised eyebrow and narrowed eyes. 

“Or are you telling me that you and Jemima tell Demeter every time you wanna do something after school?” 

Bombalurina didn’t dignify that snide question with a response and just placed her math book in front of her on the table, placed a notebook in her lap and dug a pen out of her bag, determined to at least get some studying done before Tugger would start yammering on about whatever he wanted to talk about today. And hopefully it wouldn't revolve around Munkustrap and how Tugger felt suffocated by him.  _ Again _ .

Mistoffelees eyed them both and looked down into his bag, pretending to search for his notebook while trying to avoid the tension between Bombalurina and Tugger.

He seriously hated it when other cats argued in front of him. He never knew what to do about it or how to get out of the awkwardness that came with it. 

Though he felt a bit floundered by Tugger and how he talked about his brother. He understood that Tugger might not have any fond memories of Macavity, especially with how off-the-rails he had gone over the years, but why would he be so bitter towards Munkustrap? From what Mistoffelees had seen and heard, Munkustrap seemed like a perfectly nice, responsible and helpful guy, always willing to lend a paw to his fellow students. And even taking into consideration any sibling rivalry or just getting on each other's nerves, he didn't quite understand the bitterness and resentment pouring out of him. 

Then again he supposed, every sibling relationship was probably different from each other. He and Victoria had always been extremely close and despite their few fights, they had always had a very good relationship and had always been able to talk about anything and everything going on in their lives. So he didn't quite understand why other cats couldn't do the same with their brothers or sisters. 

Bombalurina looked up from her math book at Mistoffelees and smiled gently, playing a little with her pen. "So, what do you think of Jellicle Arts now? Now you've had a full school day, so what do you think?"

Mistoffelees looked up from his bag and finally took out his own notebook, placing it in his lap before looking up at Bombalurina. "Oh, well… it's certainly different from my old school. Though I don't think it's quite as unstructured or disorganized as I thought at first, it's just… strange."

She nodded, her smile widening a little and took a sip from her coffee. "Of course there's structure, kitt. It's just a different kind of structure than you'll find in a normal school. You'll get used to it, you'll see."

Tugger nodded and the negative energy was now suddenly gone, and he threw his arm around Mistoffelees' shoulders. "Yeah, we still do normal, boring classes just like every other school does. We just sprinkle in a bit of fun here and there between the boring stuff. And believe me, it more than makes up for it."

Mistoffelees rolled his eyes and shook his head, but didn't comment on how essential classes were considered boring, but instead asked, "But how do you show your progression in those classes? I mean, with academic classes you do tests and get homework to show what you've learned, but how do you do that with dance or singing classes? How do you get graded on that?"

Bombalurina shrugged her shoulders and smirked. "Depends on the class really. With dance it might be to learn a specific choreography by the end of the week or semester, or to create one up on your own and perform it in front of the class-"

"Sometimes in front of the school." Tugger interjected with a wide grin and Bombalurina took a moment to glare at him for interrupting her before continuing. 

"Yes,  _ thank you. _ With singing, we spend a lot of time learning technique, so generally we get graded by how well we sing. It might sound easy, but Heavide help you if you choose to sing an intense Broadway song if you haven't learned how to belt properly. Not only will you probably damage your vocal chords badly, you will most likely fail that class faster than you can say picky peke."

Tugger nodded but squeezed Mistoffelees' shoulder reassuringly. "Yeah, it's all about learning your limits. Not every cat has the same kind of talents or voices, so you obviously need to learn your strengths so you don't hurt yourself. But if you just pay attention and don't push it too far too fast, you'll be fine." 

"And with acting, we tend to put on recitals, with auditions and everything, and they tend to play a big part in your grade. But there's also acting exercises that you do and depending how well you do, well, you get the idea. It's all practice, practice, practice and a nick of luck and talent of course."

Mistoffelees nodded slowly, trying to process this new information. He had never considered himself as someone with stage fright, he'd always done fine with oral reports in school and whenever he needed to do something in front of a crowd, like dance with his sister at one of his father's parties he had always done well. But he definitely didn't like being at the center of attention for longer than he needed to. Sure, he did fine during dance class today, but to be graded with the whole class or possibly the whole school watching? He'd have to work on that.

"And how often are there showcases? Aside from the Showcase last week, how often do we put on shows like these?"

Tugger smiled when he heard Mistoffelees say 'we' and not 'you' when asking his question and slowly retracted his arm to take another sip of latte. "Well, for shows like the Showcase we put on at least two per year, but there's also several smaller shows, plays, recitals and stuff over the year. Sometimes it's just for singers, sometimes for dancers, sometimes plays for our theatre cats. And sometimes for everyone, like the Showcase. And they can be all from ten or more per semester, combined."

Bombalurina nodded, making a note in her notebook before looking up again. "Yeah, it's all part of the grading process. Obviously technique and skill and everything is important, but since we are a performing arts school, part of the grading process is grading how well you perform. You can be an amazing dancer and get all the moves right, but if you have no stage charisma or can't engage an audience," She grimaced and shrugged. "Well then you probably don't belong at this school."

"Huh…" Mistoffelees bit his lip and looked down into his tea as his brain processed all this information, slowly nodding to himself as he took it all in. "Yeah, I suppose all that makes sense." 

Tugger grinned and lightly punched him in the arm. "Yeah, but we also do it for fun too. Like, if we put on a show or play, it might help you with your grades and all, but it's also because we like doing it. It's for fun! We're performers, we are  _ artists _ !" He raised his voice and his paw, lightly clenching it and contorted his face into a mock-serious frown. 

Mistoffelees snorted and shook his head at Tugger's ridiculous display, which made Tugger laugh too and he dropped the pose. "We're doing what we do because we love it. We think it's fun. Like how I love playing music, or Bomba loves to sing and you love to dance. It's our joy and passions, what we love to do. That's what so great about this school, we get to do what we love the most every single day."

Mistoffelees smiled and nodded before taking a sip of tea before it really hit him. He'd been smiling a lot today. He couldn't even remember the last time he smiled so much in one day. He mostly went through every day almost entirely on autopilot, going through the motions and barely allowing himself to feel anything, just staying in constant apathy. And now here he was, smiling and kind of laughing with new friends. 

And, he also realized, he could barely feel the presence of his magic. He knew it was, it always was, but there was fighting to be released or even any tingle in his paws. It was like when he was visiting them during the rehearsals that very first day. It was there, but there was no struggle to keep it concealed or fighting to keep it down, it was just… there. 

_ 'Huh, well isn't that interesting?'  _

It was a strange feeling, to be this… happy? Was this happy? Had it been so long since he last felt it? And to be smiling this much? To allow himself to feel something that wasn't apathy, sadness or fear?

_ 'What has my life become? What has become of me?' _

"Hey, are you alright?" He looked up and saw Tugger look at with a concerned frown. "You kinda zoned out there for a moment."

Swallowing, Mistoffelees set his cup down and rubbed his paws over his face with a heavy sigh. These last two days had had way too many emotional curveballs or revelations for him and he was starting to feel very overwhelmed, especially on top of all the new things he had to get used to. New faces, new classes, new school, new everything. And after how eventful today had been, his brain and barely used emotions were starting to reach their limits.

"Ugh, yeah I'm alright. It's just… it's a lot to take in. So many new impressions and things, it's becoming a bit much for me." He rubbed at his temples and closed his eyes, trying to ease the slight throbbing in his head.

Tugger nodded with a sympathetic smile, reaching out a paw to rub his back. Mistoffelees froze and fought hard not to flinch away from his touch. Try as he might, he just could not get used to all this casual touching that Tugger kept doing. At least the arm around his shoulders was harmless enough and he could easily remove it from his person, but this was different.

"Do you wanna go home? If you're too tired, that's okay. We could pick this up again some other day." 

Mistoffelees shook his head and took a deep breath, reining himself and his powers back in before looking up again. "No, no I'm alright. This day has just been very different from what I'm used to, that's all." 

Bombalurina smiled, writing something down in her notebook again. "Well, I would tell you the first day is always the toughest, but then again, it's not your first day, is it?" She glanced up from the book with a teasing smirk. 

Mistoffelees gave her a weak smile in return and then leaned back in his seat. "No, I suppose it isn't." He had started to grip at his own paws, something that had become second nature to him, trying to ease the tingling in his claws. 

Tugger noticed how he was gripping his paws, in a rather anxious manner and reached out to take it and opened his mouth to comfort him. 

The reaction was instantaneous. 

Mistoffelees jerked his paws away from Tugger's, turning his body so that his back was facing him. He was gripping his paws even tighter and refused to look at Tugger or Bombalurina.

" _ Don't _ . Don't touch me." His voice had gone cold and hard again, like it had that first day when they met him and his whole body looked tense and defensive. 

Tugger jerked back in surprise when he saw how the little tux reacted, at first too shocked to process what he had said, then felt like the biggest idiot this side of the United Kingdom.

_ 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! He's only just starting to lower his guard around you and you already ruined it. He told you he doesn't have any friends and you had to go and make him uncomfortable after only one day! Idiot!' _

Tugger's ears folded back against his head and he glanced over to Bombalurina. She looked more confused by Mistoffelees' reaction than angry at him for making him feel uncomfortable, but she also gave him a reprimanding frown. 

While she obviously didn't understand why this little cat was acting the way he was, it was very clear that he was not very comfortable around other cats and played his cards very close to his chest. It was behavior she recognised very well from Demeter after she got together with Macavity and it all went south very quickly. It had taken years for her to start coming back to herself after they broke up, and there were still hurdlers for her to overcome. Demeter had been very openly anxious, shied away from everyone and only ever seemed to talk with her and their little sister Jemima, as well as Munkustrap and Tugger of course, but it had taken a long time for her to feel comfortable around other cats, specifically toms. 

There was very similar behavior in Mistoffelees as her sister, but he was much better at hiding it and didn't really seem like an abuse victim. At least she hoped not. No one deserved to be treated the way her sister had been treated by Macavity. 

A few long, awkward seconds passed, then Mistoffelees sighed and his ears folded back and he turned back to Tugger. "I'm sorry, it's... " He sighed again. "it's nothing personal, I just… I don't like being touched. That's all." His voice was weak and he felt ashamed. How could he be so stupid as to make such a scene out of it? In a crowded café, no less! He knew better than this.

He heard his father's words echo in his head.  _ 'Do not make a spectacle of yourself Mistoffelees.'  _ And he winced inwardly, swallowing hard and he clenched his paws so tightly, almost drawing blood as his claws dug into his skin.

Tugger's first thought was to every time he had seen Victoria fling her arms around her brother and hug him, or hold his paw or holding her paw on his back or shoulder, but stopped himself from saying anything about it. He knew that family didn't fall under the same category as everyone else, and Mistoffelees and Victoria did seem very, very close, so she probably didn't apply to that rule. Either that or he had been forced to learn to live with it, as Victoria was a very affectionate and touch-y feel-y cat. 

Instead he nodded and smiled. "It's alright. I'm sorry kitt, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything. I was just trying to help." Mistoffelees nodded and smiled back, though it didn't quite reach his eyes this time.

"I know. And thank you, Tugger. Just, don't do it again. I mean, my shoulders are fine, but…" He trailed off and Tugger just nodded. 

The silence that followed was tense and awkward and Tugger bit his lip, wrecking his brain for something, anything, the change the subject to so things could go back to being fun and nice again. 

He came up with nothing, but thankfully Bombalurina had always been smarter than her best friend, and smiled as if the past few minutes hadn't happened and said. "It's a pity you guys didn't have math with me today. You should have seen Amaryl as everyone stared at her."

Mistoffelees looked up and there was a small sparkle of mischief in his eyes. "Yes? How angry was she?"

Bombalurina smirked wickedly. "Furious. I swear, there was smoke coming out of her ears by the end of the hour. Everyone was staring at her, making jokes or just laughing as they saw her. It didn't matter how much Professor Albus told everyone to stop and pay attention to their work instead, no one listened. Besides, he was snickering too along with the rest of us. He only hid it better."

Tugger and Mistoffelees laughed at the mental image of even a teacher laughing at Amaryl and her disastrous fur. She must have been absolutely furious, not to mention humiliated. 

Bombalurina snorted. "She didn't even last the full hour. She grabbed her stuff and no one saw her for the rest of the day. I bet she called her daddy to find the best salon in London so they could fix her fur, screw the cost."

The three cats started to laugh and Mistoffelees felt the familiar feeling of schadenfreude and victory spread through his whole body, cancelling out the shame and anxiety that had been there only a few seconds earlier. 

_ 'Serves her right, the nasty jerk.' _

Then the door to the café opened and another familiar face showed up. It was Alonzo, Munkustrap's best friend, and he stood awkwardly by the door, looking the counter up and down, as if looking for someone. 

Bombalurina and Tugger looked at each other knowingly before waving at him. "Hey, Alonzo!"

Alonzo jumped and looked at them, a small blush covering his cheeks before he sauntered over to them. "Uh, hey guys. W-what's up?" He rubbed the back of his neck, still blushing and his eyes flickered from side to side. Bombalurina smirked and rested her chin in her paw.

"Just hanging out, the usual. You know we like to hang here after school. What about you, coming alone today? I would have thought Munkustrap and Demeter might have come with." 

Alonzo swallowed and shook his head, though his eyes kept flickering back towards the counter. "Um no, Munk had to work today and Demeter said she had promised Jemima with something." Tugger and Bombalurina shot each other a knowing look and even Mistoffelees picked up on his nervousness but couldn't pinpoint how. 

Alonzo cleared his throat, looking over the table and his eyes locked on Mistoffelees cup. "Oh look Mistoffelees, aren't you almost done with your drink? And it looks cold too. " 

Mistoffelees looked at his mug. It was half-full and quite hot still. 

"No, not really." He said. But Alonzo pretended he hadn't heard him. 

"Why don't I go get you another one, my treat! A proper 'Welcome to the school' drink on me."

Mistoffelees shook his head, feeling more than a little confused. "Uh, you really don't have to-" But Alonzo just plowed on. 

"No, no, I insist." Then he looked over Bombalurina and Tugger's mugs- which were also half-full- and nodded to himself. "And hey, while I'm there I'll get more for you too! Few drinks for my very good friends. I'll be right back!" Then he hurried towards the counter, leaving his friends without giving them a second to respond.

Mistoffelees got to his feet, about to follow him. "Alonzo, you really don't have to-" But before he got up, he felt Tugger grab his arm and pull him back into his seat again, shaking his head with a small smirk.

"Don't waste your breath, kitt." Mistoffelees looked at him and then back towards Alonzo. 

"But I don't-" 

Bombalurina cut him off. "It's not about you, Misto. Alonzo will take  _ any _ reason to make his order as long as possible. Sometimes he'll buy drinks for both his friends and ours at the same time. He insists on not wanting the money back, but we give it to him anyway. Good thing too, otherwise he'd probably go bankrupt within a week."

Mistoffelees frowned, confused, and tilted his head to the side. "Why?"

Tugger and Bombalurina eyed each other before looking back at each other. "Because Cassandra," Tugger batted his eyelashes exaggeratedly. "works here." 

He turned around in his seat to look over at the counter, Bombalurina and Mistoffelees following suit, and Mistoffelees had to bite his lip so he wouldn't start laughing. He wouldn't say he knew Alonzo very well, but he had always come across as self confident, laidback and cool. Now, he looked like he was trying desperately to be cool and self-confident, but one cool, haughty look from Cassandra made that facade crumble to the ground and he just looked awkward and embarrassed. 

But as Mistoffelees looked over Cassandra's face, he could swear he saw a teeny, tiny hint of amusement in her eyes and the corner of her lip twitched ever so slightly. Though he was unsure if she was laughing at him or if she thought he was charming. 

A few minutes later he came and gave them their drinks, staring down at his feet and refusing to make eye contact with them. Bombalurina smiled and gestured at the chair next to her. "You wanna sit down, Lonzo? There's room for one more." 

But Alonzo shook his head, still looking down at the floor, and took a sip from his mug. "No, I, I have… stuff to do. Alone. Over there. So, yeah, bye. See ya." Then he stumbled over to a table for one, snatched a book out of his bag and pretended to read, while hiding his blushing cheeks from the world. 

Bombalurina and Tugger laughed and shook their heads. Mistoffelees looked over at Alonzo, who was now peeking over his book, looking over at Cassandra as she served other patrons and looked as though she didn't spare him a second thought. 

"Do you think he has a shot?" Tugger asked Bombalurina, who shrugged as she drank from her cup.  "Who knows? Cassandra is very hard to get a clear read off and extremely hard to get close to. I know her and consider her my friend and she still barely talks to me about personal things. It'd be hard for anyone to reach her heart." She took another sip, then smiled. "Still, he's nothing if not persistent. He may still find a way to reach her." 

Then she smirked and batted her tail at him. "After all, he's far less obnoxious than you." 

Tugger gasped, mock-offended, and batted his tail back at her. "How dare you? I will have you know that I can charm everyone! There is no one who can resist the Rum Tum Tugger."

Mistoffelees rolled his eyes and shook his head but didn't say anything. He didn't have to. His snort was enough to get a reaction from the other two cats. Bombalurina laughed and Tugger blushed a little at the memory of their first meeting. 

Yeah, other cats had played hard to get before, but that was the first time he had been fully and completely shut down, without any hints of flirting or interest. Not even a little. His first meeting with Mistoffelees had been the very first time he'd tried to flirt with someone and he'd been turned down on the spot. Even Cassandra had taken a little time to start thinking he was annoying. Mistoffelees had been extremely difficult to get to know and the usual ways just had not worked. It wasn't until they'd run into each other in his father's office yesterday that they'd had a civil conversation, and even then he'd needed to soften him up a little. 

And even now when they'd spent the whole day together, Mistoffelees was still rolling his eyes, snorting at his comments and clearly wasn't going to turn into another one of his admirers. 

And in a way, he liked that. It'd be nice to have a friend who didn't fawn over him and was unafraid to speak their mind without being a jerk about it, like his older brother always did. 

He smirked as he looked over his little friend, sipping his tea before looking over his math book and scribbled down notes.

_ 'I think this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.' _

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally done! Only took 7 months to finish it, but it's done! I hope you liked it and please leave comments, kudos and bookmark and subscribe to this story!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mistoffelees reflects over his second day at his new school and also has another encounter with a familiar face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, figures that I manage to go through all of 2020 working in a store and not get sick all year, but somehow manage to get sick while staying home for a week. At least it wasn't Covid (thank god) and I'm fine now, just a cough and a runny nose, but still.
> 
> Also a good thing that this chapter was mostly finished already and just needed to be checked through a little before publishing, so I didn't lose much time. 
> 
> FYI, I may change the title of this story as I'm not too happy with it. Just a heads up.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

"Do you live far from here?" Tugger asked as they exited the coffee shop and Mistoffelees was a little surprised to see the full moon light up the dark sky and mostly empty streets. Was it that late already? 

He shook his head and smiled reassuringly at his friends, adjusting the bag over his shoulder. "No, not very far. I don't live too far from the school, I should find my way very quickly from here."

Bombalurina nodded and grabbed Tugger by the arm, lightly pulling him down the street. "Well, we both live down this way. It's a bit away, so we should really get going. Mom's going to kill me if I miss curfew again."

Tugger felt a bit hesitant to leave his new friend to find his way back home all by himself, especially since it was so late, and pulled his arm out of her grip. "You know, I could follow you a bit on the way. Just to make sure you get home alright. It's pretty late, I wouldn't want you to get lost or anything."

Mistoffelees smiled and shook his head. "Thank you, but it's alright. It's only a thirty minute walk from here, I'll be alright." 

Tugger nodded, still looking a little unsure, but smiled and started to follow Bombalurina down the street. "Alright then. Well, see you tomorrow then, Misto." 

"Yes, see you tomorrow!" Mistoffelees waved and started to walk the opposite way, further into the town and towards St. James street. 

It was a bit longer a walk than he had thought, but he very quickly started to recognize his surroundings and the way back to his house. 

Then, like a bolt from the blue, the tingling in his brain came back and he stopped short, in the shadow of a large apartment complex, and looked up the street, frozen to the spot. 

Further up the street, sitting with her back against a street lamp with her tattered coat pulled tight around herself, was that same homeless queen he'd seen earlier today. 

_ 'Who is she? Is she stalking me?' _ Was the only thought running through Mistoffelees' head as he stared at her, his tail twitching nervously and his paws gripped tightly at the bag strap over his shoulder. 

But she wasn't looking at him. It didn't even look like she had noticed him at all. She was looking down at the pavement, pulling her coat even tighter around herself and seemed to struggle to hold back tears, her already runny make-up smudging even more into her fur. Every so often another cat passed her as they hurried home and she would try to reach out towards them- maybe to ask for a penny or something to eat. But they all went out of their way to get as far away from her as possible, some even swiping their claws at her or hissing as they passed her.

More tears pooled in her eyes and now she didn't even try to stop them now. Then she looked up towards the sky, the full moon reflecting in her amber eyes and turning her tears silver. And as strange and uncomfortable he felt from constantly running into this queen, Mistoffelees felt his heart break a little when he saw how other cats treated her and how they shunned her.

"Hey, you should probably hurry home, kitt." He looked up and saw a tom with a fancy suit and a suitcase looking at him sternly. "It's getting late. Wouldn't want to get in trouble with the riff raff." As he said 'riff raff' he turned to the homeless queen with a scornful and almost disgusted look before turning back to Mistoffelees, who nodded meekly.

"Y-yes, sir." 

He hesitantly looked back to the homeless queen across the street, then looked up the street, then back to the queen before slowly and hesitantly starting to walk away.

Then, just as he hurried past her, she began to sing. 

_ "Silence, not a sound from the pavement. Has the moon lost her memory? She is smiling alone.  _

_ In the lamplight, the withered leaves collect at my feet _

_ And the wind begins to moan. _

Mistoffelees slowed down until he stopped and turned to look over his shoulder as he heard her sing. Her voice was soft, barely audible despite the empty street, and quite beautiful. Though there was definitely something haunted in it, Mistoffelees didn't need to be a music expert to hear it, though he couldn't pinpoint in what way. She was sad, that much was clear, but seemed more mournful than grieving over her situation.

_ "Every street lamp seems to beat, a fatalistic warning _

_ Someone mutters and the streetlamp gutters _

_ And soon it will be morning." _

Maybe she regretted the choices that led her to where she was? Maybe someone she thought she could trust had betrayed her and left her on the street? Or maybe she had lost her whole family and now had no one to help her?

Either way he felt his heart go out to this poor cat.

Mistoffelees turned around fully to look at her as she continued her soft singing.

_ "Memory, all alone in the moonlight. _

_ I can smile at the old days  _ _ I was beautiful then.  _

_ I remember the time I knew what happiness was.  _ _ Let the memory live again." _

She softly closed her eyes, letting the tears roll down her cheeks, bowing her head and cradled her paws in her lap. Her ears were folded against her skull and her crooked whiskers hung limply from her face. 

Mistoffelees stared at her, unsure how he felt, but he was certain he was feeling sorry for her, though there was an uneasiness about her too. Something that made him uncomfortable and on edge. His magic had warned her about her several times now and as much trouble as his powers had given him in his life, it had never led him into trouble before. It had always warned him about potential danger and helped protect him. It had never led him astray as far as danger and bad cats went and it couldn't be wrong now, right?

But he couldn't very well just leave her, right? He should do something, shouldn't he? His father had always told about cats who were less fortunate than them and the value of giving to those who had little. 

Then she looked up and saw him, looked at him before recognizing and stared up at him, bewildered and then hopeful. Mistoffelees felt extremely anxious and scared, frozen in place and couldn't decide if he should stay or run away. This was very far out of his comfort zone and his magic was making his paws tingle again and setting off alarm bells, telling him to "Leave now, you idiot! Leave right now!"

But he stayed, fighting the urge to flee, but made sure to keep a good distance between himself and this queen. 

Finally she slowly, slowly got to her feet, leaning against the street lamp for support. Was she hurt? Should he call an ambulance? Ask someone for help? He did neither, just stared at her as tried to make sense of his thoughts and feelings. He felt sorry for her, but there was something about her that told his magic that she was dangerous, or at least shady. And his magic in return screamed at him to leave, just turn around and leave. 

_ 'Seriously, if nothing else your father did teach you about Stranger Danger, you moron!' _

They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, neither cat moving or speaking one word to each other. Then, she reached her paw towards him to touch him, which made him jerk back and tripped over from his own feet, landing on his behind on the pavement. Now his paws were not just tingling, they were shaking with pent up magic that wanted to be used to defend itself and him, which could  _ not _ happen. Not here in the middle of busy London street. 

So he quickly got to his feet and started to run down the street and didn't stop until he reached his house. He stood in front of the door for about a minute, calming his racing heart and slowed his breathing before opening the door and walking in.

Victoria and their father were already sitting by the table when he walked in, having just started eating and looked a bit surprised when he came. 

"Hello, I'm home."

Bustopher raised his eyebrow at him, looking both worried and surprised. "You are home late, Mistoffelees. Where have you been for so long?" 

Mistoffelees dropped his bag on the floor before hurrying to grab his own plate from his father's personal chef and sat down, determined to finish his dinner quickly so he could go back to his room.

"Yes, I was studying with a few friends after school, like I said in my text. I just lost track of time." Bustopher stared at his son incredulously and almost dropped the fork in shock. Friends? Mistoffelees had made friends already? He couldn't even remember the last time his son had ever mentioned having friends, let alone spending time with them. And now he'd managed to make friends in two days?

Mistoffelees could feel his father stare at him as he looked down at his plate and looked up at him, looking him straight in the eyes. "Why, is there a problem with that?" He knew had done nothing wrong here. He had told his father where he had gone even if he hadn't told him when he was going to come home. And despite how late he'd come home, he hadn't missed curfew and had broken none of his father's rules. So even if his father did try to punish him for this, he would be the one looking like a bad-guy.

And he knew it. 

Bustopher shook his head, a strange new feeling of powerlessness making itself known. He had never felt like this with his son before, he had always been so obedient and never made a fuss. This had always been Victoria's  _ modus operandi _ as she was the rebellious one of his children. But Mistoffelees had always followed his word to the letter, never questioning him or standing up against him in any way. He had no idea how to handle this sudden change in personality. 

"N-no, of course not. I'm happy you've made friends so fast. But you should have called or texted me, telling me when you would be home."

Mistoffelees looked him in the eyes, nodded and smiled apologetically. "Yes, I know. I'm sorry father, I will make sure to remember that next time." Then he turned back to his plate and started eating again.

It was a good thing he had learned how to keep his face neutral and not give away any emotion, because otherwise he was sure everyone would be able to spot his anxiety and nervousness from space. The butterflies in his stomach and the mad tingling in his paws were proof enough of that.

Victoria had to bite the insides of her cheeks so she wouldn't smile or laugh, but her chest was bursting with pride.

_ 'He's trying. He's actually, really trying.' _ She thought and lifted her glass to her mouth in an effort to hide her wide smile.

Once Mistoffelees had finished his dinner, he hurried up to his room and climbed up on the roof, sitting down on the dormer and looked out over the wonderful view. Their house was very close to a forest and this side of the house was completely hidden from their neighbours. Which meant that no one could see him whenever he used his magic and if he ever needed to release some of it, this was the best place to do it without any risk of being caught. 

Normally he did this whenever he felt sad, or lonely or afraid, but today he was strangely happy as he looked back on his day. Yes, he was still feeling overwhelmed by all new impressions he'd gotten in the last two days, but he still found himself unable to stop smiling as he looked back on his day. 

Thoughts of today were buzzing in his head and butterflies were fluttering in his stomach. Today had gone so much better than he could have possibly hoped for, especially after how terrible yesterday had been. He'd done amazing in class, gotten back at Amaryl for her coffee assault and he'd made some friends. 

It was the last thing that really made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. He'd made friends. Possibly for the first time in his life, he had some  _ friends _ . Wasn't  _ that _ something? Sure, something about Bomablurina still made him feel a little uneasy and Tugger was a bit of an acquired taste and he wasn't quite acquainted with him yet. He was loud, vain, extreme and in-your-face, but also supportive and obviously caring towards those he considered his friends. 

And hey, having Tugger in your corner was better than being completely alone.

He smiled happily and raised his paws up to his face, gently and slowly easing the hold on his powers, allowing the sparkles to dance over his paws before releasing them. "Presto."

The sparkles danced over the sky, in different colors and shapes, like fireworks before slowly fading away. Mistoffelees repeated the gesture, content to watch his magic finally being allowed to be freed and it seemed just as happy as he was to finally be given a little bit of freedom. 

Moments like these were always amazing. All his strain and fear was completely gone and he felt completely at ease. They were few and far between, these moments of happiness and bliss, and he had learned to treasure them whenever they happened.

"Misto?" Victoria came climbing up to him with a plastic bag in one paw that she placed in her lap as she sat down beside him. "I knocked on your door but you didn't answer. I should have known you'd go straight here after dinner."

He smiled and shrugged innocently. "Well, here I am. Just letting off a little steam, that's all." He whispered out a soft 'presto', allowing his sister to watch the colorful sparkles dance across the starlit sky. Her eyes shone with awe and reached out a paw to touch them, leaving a few sparkles dusted over her fingers. 

"You have a beautiful gift, Misto." She said softly, turning to her brother with a soft smile. "I don't care what father or anyone else has to say on the matter, your magic is a beautiful thing and you should not have to hide something so beautiful from the rest of the world."

When she and Mistoffelees were small, she had always been amazed by the things her brother could do and had been immensely proud of having a magic cat for a brother. At one point she had wished that she also could do magic because it was so amazing and cool, but she had never considered herself jealous of him for having powers while she didn't. And Mistoffelees had always been great at coming up with games for them to play, often with his magic playing a big part in their games. He'd had an incredible, vast imagination back then and was always bursting with games to play, stories to tell and fun to have. They never fought and never argued about him being 'special' while she wasn't. They'd always been close, right from the start, and had been the best of friends for as long as she could remember. 

But as the years passed she had seen less and less of his magic and it was very hard to catch him using his magic at all. And as he grew more anxious and withdrawn, she found herself wishing more and more that she also had magic powers, if only so he wouldn't feel so alone in the world. But of course she couldn't just make herself have magic powers just because she wanted to, so she made up for it by being the best sister she could possibly be and made sure he would never feel completely and utterly alone. That he could always count on her to be there for him, no matter what. 

So whenever he did feel comfortable enough to show his magic in front of her, it felt special, like she was being given a very special gift. And she treasured every single one of them.

Mistoffelees blushed but in lieu of answering her he just waved with his paw, allowing more sparkles to fly from his claws and to his sister, decorating her fur and dress with bright, shining sparkles. Victoria's smile brightened even more and carefully brushed her fingers over her fur, awestruck by his handiwork and almost squealed when she carefully brushed over them and saw that they stuck. 

Then she looked up from her fur and shuffled a little closer to him. "So, how was your study session with Tugger and Bomba?" 

Mistoffelees bit his lip, struggling to come up with something good to say, before shrugging and smiled awkwardly. "It was… nice." He eventually said lamely.

"Just nice?" Victoria questioned, bumping her shoulder against his teasingly. He shook his head and laughed embarrassedly. 

"It was like… being on Mars, I had no idea what I'm supposed to say or what I'm supposed to do. This is all so new and strange and I have no idea how to act. Everyone is super nice but in a way that makes it even weirder. They are nice and welcoming and I'm just awkward and have no idea how to respond."

Then he frowned and wrapped his arms around his legs. "And… I snapped at Tugger today." 

Victoria tilted her head to the side, trying to look at Mistoffelees' face and placed an arm around his back. "What? Why, what happened?"

Mistoffelees shrugged weakly and looked away from her and instead focused a big oak tree in the distance. "Nothing, I just… He tried to take my paw and I just… told him to back off."

He didn't say anything else, but he didn't have to. Victoria knew him well enough to know that telling someone to back off for Mistoffelees meant being cold and slightly hostile and shut everyone out. Something he did quite often and was very good at, it was practically second nature to him at this point.

Though it had a tendency to ruin any good mood in a situation.

She pulled him close and placed her paw on the side of his head, pulling it into the crook of her neck. "It's okay, Misto. It's your second day at a new school, it's going to take time to get used to all this. It took me weeks to really get used to everything, there's no rush for you. And as for Tugger I can tell you, as forward and shameless as he can be, he would never do anything to hurt anyone or make anyone feel uncomfortable. If you tell him that you don't like it when he touches your paws or whatever, he'll stop. I can promise you that."

Mistoffelees sighed and looked back at his sister, a soft smile grazing his lips. "Thanks Tori. What would I do without you?"

She smiled and nuzzled his cheek with her nose. "You'll always have me." 

He purred softly and nuzzled back against her cheek, which made her purr as well. They sat together like that for a long while, neither one saying anything for several long minutes. Then Victoria looked down at the bag in her lap and sat up straight. "Oh right! So, after school I went out shopping with Jemima and I found a few things I thought you'd like. Might feel a bit more comfortable than your button ups." 

She handed him the bag which he took hesitantly. "Oh Tori, you didn't have to get me anything. I'm perfectly capable of buying my own clothes." 

She nodded and smiled widely. "No, I know. But I just saw them and thought of you. It might help you look and feel less uptight. See it as a Welcome to the School gift from your loving sister." 

Mistoffelees rolled his eyes, mostly in an attempt to hide his blush, and opened the bag. Inside he found several shirts of different style and color, from pitch black and plain white to dark navy blue and lush forest green. Polo shirts, long-sleeved shirts, t-shirts, there were a lot of different shirts in that bag.

He looked up from the bag at her sister with a raised eyebrow. "A few?"

Victoria shrugged, smiling unapologetically and waved him off. "Okay, so I got a bit carried away, but I couldn't help myself. And they had a sale too, 50% off everything in the store, so I figured, why not? I wanted to help you get some new things for your wardrobe."

Mistoffelees pulled out a polo shirt and held it up in front of him. It was a beautiful shade of dark green that would look great with a pair of black jeans. He'd never considered himself a fan of color, mostly sticking with black and white, but this looked very nice. 

"Thanks Tori, these look really nice." 

Victoria smiled and hugged him. "You're very welcome." Then she looked down at her watch. "It's only 7:30." She looked back to Mistoffelees, smiling even wider. "Wanna go and dance a little before bed?"

He smiled and nodded. "Of course." And with that they both scooched down towards the window, climbing back inside Mistoffelees' room. 

As Victoria ran to get her things from her room and Mistoffelees changed to his dancing clothes, he remembered Tugger and how welcome he'd made him feel today. He should probably say thank you for that, right? It'd be the polite thing to do, if nothing else. Even if Tugger was more than happy to do without any thank yous. If someone does something nice for you, you say thank you, that's basic good manners.

Said and done, Mistoffelees pulled out his phone from his pocket and sent a quick text to Tugger before his nerves could get the better of him.

_ 'Thank you for today. And for yesterday. You have no idea what it means to me.' _

As he proof-read the message and debated with himself if he should delete the last sentence, if it was too much, Victoria came back to his door with her dance clothes on. 

"Ready to go?" He looked up, his thumb hitting the send button before he realized he'd pushed it. His eyes darted down to the screen, a little worried about how Tugger might interpret his words. Then he rolled his eyes and decided to leave it at that for now and looked over to his sister.

"Yeah, I'm ready." She took his paw and they ran down towards their private dance studio. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who doesn't love some good old sibling love? Well, I do and I hope you do too!
> 
> And some more Grizabella, too. Sorry any Jemima fans who are reading this, but I think you can start to see the direction I'm taking this. It just feels like it makes sense. Especially since Misto can sense Grizabella in the show.

**Author's Note:**

> And finally done! Only took 7 months to finish it, but it's done! I hope you liked it and please leave comments, kudos and bookmark and subscribe to this story!


End file.
